Roast Breast of Pheasant Stuffed with Pheasant Mousse and Foie Gras ►
Pheasant breasts are stuffed with truffle-laced pheasant mousse and roasted. They are served with shiitake mushroom sauce — yes, other mushrooms may be used. The breasts are wrapped in caul fat, a lacy sheet of fat which simultaneously holds the breasts together and bastes them as they cook; ask your butcher to get it for you.
Ingredients
- Pheasant Mousse
- Pheasant - 2 (3 to 4 pounds each)
- Cognac - 1 ounce
- Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
- Heavy (Whipping) Cream - 3/4 cup
- Truffles - 1/2 ounce, finely chopped
- Shiitake Mushroom Sauce
- Shiitake Mushrooms - 8 ounces, stemmed and diced
- Unsalted Butter - 1 teaspoon
- Cognac - 2 ounces
- Heavy (Whipping) Cream - 1 pint
- Pheasant Glace - 3 tablespoons (alt. veal demi-glace)
- Unsalted Butter - 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) (optional)
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Assembly
- Caul Fat - 1/2 pound
- Foie Gras - 4 ounces, cut into 4 baton-shaped pieces
- Unsalted Butter - 1 teaspoon
- Oil - 1 teaspoon
- Dash of Cognac
- Dry White Wine - 1/2 cup
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
To prepare the mousse: Remove the legs and breasts from the pheasants. Bone and reserve the breasts for assembly. Fillet the meat from the thighs and legs and put through a meat grinder twice, then transfer to the bowl of a food processor. Add the cognac and seasonings and process for 30 seconds. With the machine running, slowly add the cream and process just until completely incorporated. When the mixture is smooth, transfer to a smaller bowl and gently fold in the truffles. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
To make the sauce: Briefly saute the mushrooms in butter. Add cognac, avert your face, and ignite with a long match. When the flames subside, add the cream and cook briefly until the cream thickens. Add the pheasant glace. Taste and adjust seasonings. Over medium-low heat, swirl in the butter. Set aside; keep warm.
To assemble: Soak the caul fat in ice water for 1 hour. Remove and pat dry. Cut into four 6-inch squares. Make a slit lengthwise in each of the four reserved pheasant breasts, so that a pocket is formed. Place each breast on a square of caul fat. Fill each pocket with about 2 tablespoons of the chilled pheasant mousse. Top the mousse with a baton of foie gras. Close the breast around the mousse and wrap up in the caul fat. Tie white string around the breasts several times in each direction. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
Preheat the oven to 400 F. In an ovenproof saute pan, brown the breasts on both sides in the butter and oil. Put in the oven and roast for 9 to 12 minutes. Remove the breasts from the oven and let rest 3 to 4 minutes before carving. Deglaze the roasting pan with cognac and wine and strain the juices into the mushroom sauce.
To serve: Remove the strings and caul fat from the breasts. Slice into medallions and arrange on serving plates. Spoon shiitake mushroom sauce around the medallions and serve.
